Cuivre River Electric awards $17,000 in scholarships, two locals selected

Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 10:36 am

34 students from Lincoln, Pike, St. Charles and Warren counties were fortunate enough to receive $17,000 in scholarship awards from the Cuivre River Electric Community Trust. Both Kyriana Foster and Austin Smith of Pike County were awarded $500 scholarships.

These scholarship funds are donated by Cuivre River Electric members who choose to participate in a program entitled “Operation Round Up.” Members can participate by simply electing to round up their electric bill payments each month to the next highest dollar.

Since the program began in 1997, more than $765,000 has been awarded to help over 1,625 area students achieve their academic goals.

There are several criteria for the scholarships and other financial assistance that must be met by applicants before they will be considered.

Students can be eligible for consideration of the awards if they live in the Cuivre River Electric Cooperative service area. These students must also maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 while attending undergraduate courses at an accredited university or technical school.

Applicants are also asked to provide an official transcript and two letters of recommendation, write a narrative to highlight their academic achievements and state their career goals, and demonstrate a financial need.

The scholarship may also be used for adult continuing education courses in their career fields.

In addition to scholarships, Operation Round Up was founded to help address needs in the areas of health, youth, education, home weatherization, community and emergency services that are not being met. These funds are available to help individuals, families and organizations in the CREC service area.

Operation Round Up applications are available online at www.cuivre.com. The next scholarship deadline is May 1, 2013.

CREC was established by local residents in 1941 to provide electricity in portions of Lincoln, Pike, St. Charles and Warren counties where electricity was not available. The cooperative now serves more than 60,000 homes and businesses. For more information on Operation Round Up and Cuivre River Electric Cooperative visit www.cuivre.com or call 800-392-3709, ext. 230.